For Jay Friedman, a teacher at Whittier School in Teaneck New Jersey, it all started with worms. She was looking for a study to do with her fourth grade students. Worms were cheap and easy to get, and there were lots of books on worms, too, so she began there. At first her fourth graders, maybe a little jaded, maybe a little skeptical, had no questions about the slimy creatures. They just, ho hum, didn't want to know much about worms. So Jay pushed them to wonder by thinking aloud about her own wonderings. Pretty soon she'd filled up a chart with questions and the inquiry study was born. And did those kids get into it! The room filled up with information about worms--writing, drawings, photos of worms and of course, real worms. The worm study generated buzz around school. Kids were begging to be in Jay's group. It was turning out better than expected! Even the school custodian got into it. One day he came in and asked Jay, "Are you studying worms?" Uh-oh, Jay thought, Here it comes.The worms are making a mess. I'm breaking building code. He's going to make me flush them. But no. The custodian had something for her--worm fossils. Turns out he's an expert on the subject. And so, the inquiry took a new turn--a study on fossils. The kids had a million questions.

Check out the site below to see a video of the fossil inquiry study in action.

www.teaneckschools.org click on video gallery whittier school go to A Museum of Their Own